|
Community Forum at Ikot Eyen Imo
in Ikot Abasi Local Government Area.
The Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law
in collaboration with OSIWA organized the community
forum at Akwa Ibom state. The community forum was
held on the 23rd and 24th March in two communities
in Akwa Ibom State namely; Ikot Eyen Imo in Ikot
Abasi LGA, and Etenan town in Etanan Local
Government Area. The trio of IHRHL staff which
comprised of the Executive Director of the IHRHL,
the Programmes Manager and the programmes Officer-
women’s Rights Advocacy of the IHRHL arrived Ikot
Eyen Imo at about 11:00am on the 23rd of March 2005.
We were received at the home of an erstwhile Local
Government Chairman – Obong Ama Ette Ntuk, Who
numerated several problems facing the community from
lack of Basic amenities such as schools, health care
system, good roads to portable water facilities.
After a heartwarming hosting, we were taken to the
venue of the program. There were over four hundred
persons including village chiefs, town heads, men,
women and youths were already seated and waiting for
our arrival. We were ushered into the hall in a
great fanfare.
Introductions, Address and
Presentations
The programme started at about 11:30am with an
opening prayer, and an introduction of the chiefs,
heads of neighboring communities, women leaders from
the communities, youth leaders and our selves. The
former chairman of the Local Government Area, who
also happens to the head of the community, Obong Ama
Ette Ntuk, took the welcome address. In his address
the leader welcomed the team from IHRHL and said
that our visit was timely. In went on to numerate
all the problems that had besieged the community
which is as a result of neglect from the oil
companies operating in the area and lack of
government assistance to the community. He harped on
the neglect of the dilapidated bridge leading to the
community to lack of basic amenities such as pipe
borne water, classroom blocks, health care system
etc. He later appealed to the IHRHL to assist in
tarring the road that links Ikot Iyen Imo to other
communities and also to establish a liaison office
in Ikot Iyen Imo where they channel most of their
grievances to the office in Uyo and to Port
Harcourt.
The Executive Director took his turn to speak; in
his address the IHRHL introduced the IHRHL and its
Objectives. He apologized for the absence of some
expected visitors form OSIWA who were supposed to be
part of the Forum but who were conspicuously absent.
He spoke mainly on human rights issues and abuses.
The Executive Director described human rights by
saying that every one is born equal and the same,
both rich and poor, young and old, disabled and
able; and that no one is born superior to the other,
neither is any one born a thief. He highlighted the
rights and responsibility of the people and the
government, the abuse of human rights by government
and highly placed individuals in the community who
trample on the rights of the less privileged people.
He used an illustration of the late maestro, Fela’s
music on Human rights na my property to drive home
the message, that all human beings are born free and
equal and that every one is entitled to his/her
rights regardless of age, sex, color and creed. He
enumerated the need for people to respect the rights
of others, and stated that rights also come with
responsibilities. He stated that it was the
responsibility of every government to provide basic
amenities for its citizens, and stated that were
this failed the citizens had the rights to question
the government and ask for such amenities in a
peaceful manner and dialogue without disturbing the
public peace. He stated that it was the
responsibility of every government to provide basic
amenities for its citizens, and stated that were
this failed the citizens had the rights to question
the government and ask for such amenities in a
peaceful manner and dialogue without disturbing the
public peace. He also lamented that the Niger Delta
region with all its vast mineral resources and
potentials the people of the Niger Delta still
remained very poor.
He also spoke on the rights of the child and the
responsibility of the parents to educate the child.
He also talked about access to justice and the need
to introduce a liaison office in the community where
those who are not within the reach of justice either
because they do not have the means of hiring a
lawyer or for any other reasons. He said that when
the center would be launched, those whose rights
have been abused would be appropriately represented
in court of law for free. This elicited some wild
applause from the audience.
On her part the Programmes Officer for women,
started by introducing her office and the job
responsibilities. She talked on the plight of women
and on the discrimination and violence women face in
the society due to their sex. She also highlighted
some of the discriminatory practices against women
including; female Genital Mutilation, Widowhood
Practices, Discrimination against the girl-child
etc. She appealed to the people to eschew such
humiliating practices against women in other for
women to contribute to the growth of the society.
Questions, comments and answers
At the end of the address, the participants took
their turn to ask several questions. Most of the
questions were bothered on responsibilities of the
oil companies and the government, and expectations
from the Institute. The IHRHL representative in Akwa
Ibom, Barr. Nsikak took most of the questions and
remarks and would include it in his reports.
The IHRHL team was able to provide some
entertainment for over the four hundred participants
who graced the occasion. After the closing remarks
and prayers, The Executive Director asked the
participants to hold hands together, he later sang a
song of solidarity – We Shall Overcome- and asked
the whole congregation to repeat the song. The song
was taken twice and then we were dismissed. We were
conducted around some of the sites were the
community members had provided self-help projects in
the community. We left Ikot Iyen Imo Community at
about 3:00pm after a successive outing to Uyo in
preparation for the next community forum at Etenan.
Community Forum at Etenan Town in
Etenan Local Government Area.
The Institute in collaboration with OSIWA also
organized a community forum in Etenan town in Etenan
Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State on the 24th
of March 2005. the Executive Director, Programmes
Manager, Programmes Officer- Women’s Right’s
Advocacy including the IHRHL Programme Officer at
Akwa Ibom State, Barr. Nsikak Ibanga arrived the
venue of the programme around 12:noon, which was
behind schedule. This was as a result of logistic
problems that were encountered at Uyo the Akwa Ibom
State capital.
Turn out
According to some participants at the venue, there
was a large turn-out of participants including
women, youths and men and chiefs some of whom were
still visibly present, most of the participants left
after waiting for two hours- the program was slated
for 9:00am. A participant said most of them left for
the market since that day was the market day in the
town. At the venue of the programme, there were a
handful of men, including the head chief and some
village leaders. After a brief wait, participants
who had gotten wind of our arrival started trickling
into the hall. Initially there was no woman
participant, but few minutes’ later two women walked
in and they were the only female participants who
showed up for the occasion.
Introduction
After the initial introduction of the chiefs and
some of the participants present, the IHRHL team was
introduced, and the prayer session, Dr Ubom a
lecturer at the university of Uyo gave the welcome
address. In his address he highlighted some of the
social ills plaguing the Nigerian state e.g. massive
corruption in the country. He sited the on-going
bribery scam that indicted the Minister of Education
and the President of the Senate. He said problems
such as this are inimical to the development and the
well being of the country.
After his address, the Executive Director of the
IHRHL, Mr. Anyakwee Nsirmovu took turn to make a
presentation. He began by addressing the fundamental
issues. He said that as citizens of Nigeria and as
stakeholders in the democratic dispensation, we are
all concerned with what happens in our immediate
environment and the larger society. He said that
based on the type of democracy we have in Nigeria,
there is need to equip the masses intellectually on
how to empower themselves so that they can fight for
their rights and affect changes in the society. He
also told them that the IHRHL objectives is service
to man and that the institute is interested in the
rights and responsibilities of individuals. He noted
with dismay that despite vast potentials and
resources available in the Niger Delta region,
majority of the Niger Delta people lived in abject
poverty. He emphasized that there is a need on how
to find solution to human rights problems facing the
people.
What is Human Rights
The Executive Director described human rights by
saying that every one is born free and the same,
both rich and poor, young and old, disabled and
able; and that no one is born superior to the other,
neither is any one born a thief. He said individuals
are a product of what society has to offer. He also
said that human rights is about equality, those
things that are inherent in us. He said that all
human beings are born free and equal and that every
one is entitled to his/her rights regardless of age,
sex, color and creed. He noted that the idea of
government is to protect the rights of its citizens
and not to abuse the rights of the ordinary people,
the same people they have vowed to protect. He also
said that the objective of the IHRHL community forum
is to awaken the consciousness of the rights of the
people in the society. He reiterated that rights and
responsibilities go hand in hand. He urged the
people not to legitimize illegitimacy. He announced
that as part of the objectives of the IHRHL, the
organization would open a liaison office in Etanan
town in other to address the myriad problems of
human rights abuses by governments and oppression by
those who are highly placed in the society and well
abuses by corporate organizations.
After his presentation, the programme officer for
women’s human rights took turn to make presentations
on gender related issues. During her presentation,
she decried the low turnout of women to the pogramme,
and wondered what might have been the reason for the
low turn, which was in a sharp contrast to the
number of female participants during the community
forum at Ikot Eyen Imo.
She talked on the plight of women and on the
discriminatory practices and violence that women
face in the society due to their sex. She also
highlighted some of the discriminatory practices
against women including; female Genital Mutilation,
Widowhood Practices, Discrimination against the
girl-child rape and other general gender practices.
She appealed to the people to drop such humiliating
practices against women and encourage women to
contribute to the growth of the society.
Questions, Comments and Answers
After the presentations, participants took time to
ask questions and also made comments on the
programme. The village chief in particular thanked
us for coming to the community to address the issue
of human rights to the rural people. He said the
concept of human rights is not an easy one and that
even in the developed countries of the world there
are still human rights violations. He thanked us
especially for taking the pains to have come so far
and pledge they would do all they can to imbibe the
human rights concepts. Another village head was very
elated and encouraged the human rights team for the
efforts made in highlighting some of the ills in the
society. In all the participants were highly
appreciative of our efforts and they all agreed
unanimously in donating a befitting office for the
proposed liaison office in the community. The IHRHL
Programs Officer at Akwa Ibom state took most of the
questions, and would include them in the main
report.
Closing / Departure.
After the closing prayer was taken, in the usual
IHRHL team spirit, we sang the song of solidarity
“we shall overcome someday” in unison, with everyone
holding hands and singing away harmoniously. The
IHRHL team left the town almost immediately back to
Port Harcourt.
Challenges and Constraints
• Language barrier would sometimes cause a challenge
especially where there is no good translator.
• Community A- Ikot Eyen Imo misunderstood our
mission and objectives and was placing more emphasis
on social amenities. That I believe is a constraint
because it seems we didn’t do a good background job
on what the community expects from us.
• Uneven representation of women especially in
Etenan was actually a challenge for me, as we seem
to have lost a larger part of our audience that
would have benefited from the programme.
Achievements
• The IHRHL team did an excellent job in the just
concluded community forum, we were able to dispel
fears and disbelief, especially as people do not
have confidence in already existing structures.
• We were also able to awaken consciousness, as
people would be more aware of their rights and
responsibilities.
• The IHRHL programme officer in Akwa Ibom should be
given kudos for a good groundwork in mobilizing
community participants.
Recommendations
• More community forums should be organized in rural
communities in the Niger Delta since a lot of people
are in the dark about their rights and
responsibilities.
• There should be adequate follow up in the
communities where we have organized such forums to
see how they are responding.
• There should be adequate pre-information so that
community participants do not misunderstand our
mission for instance what happened in Iket Eyen Imo
(especially as regarding the expectations of the
people as regards providing for infrastructures)
should not have been. The reason was probably due to
the last community forum we had at the community –
where we went to inspect oil facilities and to get
the reaction of the community members on the social
corporate responsibility of the oil companies
operating in the area. They probably thought we came
back for a repeat visit to access the damages and to
proffer solutions.
• Emphasis should be made that women should be well
represented to forestall a reoccurrence of what
happened in Etenan.
• The Institute should organize a training session
where rural dwellers can be taught how to acquire
skills in other to be financially and economically
empowered.
|
